Reflective Material Dispenser

ABSTRACT

A reflective material dispenser comprising an indicator laying machine coupler, a hopper, and a dispenser shield. The hopper may comprise a lid, cover, front, at least one wall, and a dispenser assembly adapted to face an indicator material ejection device such as a paint sprayer. The dispenser shield may be adapted to substantially prohibit indicator material splashback onto the dispenser assembly. One dispenser shield may extend outwardly from the hopper and have a first end located proximal the indicator material ejection device.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to devices and methods for marking drivingsurfaces.

BACKGROUND

Areas such as roads, highways, parking lots, and runways, as well as anyother asphalt-laden or concrete-poured driving surface or anothersimilar area are often required to have painted lines, stripes, andother indicators placed upon them—often to direct vehicles orpedestrians into or towards a correct location. For example, indicatorsmay designate a portion of an area as a traffic lane or parking space.Many types of indicators are often required to be seen from a relativelylong distance during nighttime and other low-light conditions. Toimprove the visibility of such indicators, reflective materialsincluding small glass beads are frequently used on or near theindicators. These reflective materials reflect the light emanating froma vehicle and may be layeredly placed on the indicators to increaseillumination of the indicators. The reflectors may adhere to theindicators by being placed on the indicators when the indicator (such aspaint) is wet, so that when the paint or other indicator dries andbegins to adhere to the driving surface, the reflector adheres to thepaint or other type of indicator—thereby adhering to the driving surfaceas well.

Indicator material may be placed on the surface with a striping machine,which may also be called a striper. One type of striping machine used toplace the indicator material onto the driving surface may be awalk-behind machine. In a walk-behind striping machine, an operatorholds onto the machine's handlebars and walks behind the striper,manually placing the indicator material in the correct location. Onetype of striping machine that may be used is the walk behind LineLazer3400, produced by Graco®, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn.

Some prior art striping machines are adapted to also lay reflectivematerial onto the driving surface. However, these machines are deficientin many aspects. One of the greatest deficiencies in the prior artreflective material dispensing devices is that the devices often clogwith reflective material, preventing reflective material from exitingthe machine. These machines are often impractical to use since thesefrequent clogs need to be removed before the reflective material cancontinued to be laid. Removing clogs often takes a great amount ofoperator time.

In some prior art embodiments, the clogs occur due to hoppers not beingused. When hoppers are used, the reflective material may be combinedwith an adhesive material, directly or indirectly, causing reflectivematerial build-up at or near the hopper exit port. In some non-hopperprior art machines, tubes are often used, the tubes many times gettingclogged. Additionally, the reflective material exit ports of many priorart machines are not properly covered, which may lead to indicatormaterial such as paint, or other materials, clogging up the port.

A second deficiency with prior art indicator devices is their inabilityto appropriately locate the start point for beginning laying thereflective material on the driving surface. Many times, the reflectivematerial may be laid prior to, after, left of, or right of, the startpoint of the indicator. This may require an operator to scrape and relaythe reflective material and may lead to waste of reflective material.

SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric front view of a Reflective Material Dispenser andlaser fan guide coupled to an indicator striping machine according toone embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a Reflective Material Dispenser coupled to theframe and wheels of an indicator striping machine according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a left front view of a Reflective Material Dispenser and frameuncoupled to an indicator striping machine according to one embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a Reflective Material Dispenser hopperand shield according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a close-up isometric view of a cable assembly coupled to thehopper and having a transparent shield according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a hopper without a paint shield and anouter blade trapper showing 4 blades in an open position and reflectivematerial exiting the hopper and depositor according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 7 is a close-up isometric front view of a portion of the cableassembly and a dispenser assembly having a transparent hopper and knoband without a blade guide according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a dispenser assembly without an inner bladetrapper and an outer blade trapper according to one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 9 is an isometric front view of a dispenser assembly without aninner blade trapper and an outer blade trapper according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a close-up isometric view of a dispenser assembly without aninner blade trapper, an outer blade trapper, and a blade guide,highlighting the hopper cavity exit port according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of a reflective material dispenser andcoupled striping machine frame and wheels showing the bottom of thehopper and coupled dispenser assembly without a frame and withoutbrackets according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is an isometric view of the bottom of a reflective materialdispenser with a frame and brackets coupled to a striping machineaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of a portion of a reflective materialdispenser highlighting one method of coupling the indicator materialejection device to the striping machine frame according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 is an isometric view of a laser fan guide according to oneembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment of a reflective material dispenser is adapted to coupleto a walk-behind indicator striping machine, although other stripingmachines may be used. Indicator striping machines may be comprised of anindicator material ejection device used to lay indicators, or “stripes”,on roads, parking lots, runways, etc. One type of indicator ejected froma machine may be paint, and the ejection device may be a paint sprayer.One reflective material dispenser may couple to the walk-behind stripingmachine through coupling a frame portion of the dispenser to a stripingmachine reception tube.

An embodiment of a reflective material dispenser may also be comprisedof a hopper and a dispenser assembly which faces the indicator materialejection device. The embodiment may also include a dispenser shieldadapted to protect the dispenser assembly from indicator material beingsprayed onto the assembly. By adequately protecting the dispenserassembly from indicator spray, as well having a generally sealed hopperso indicator spray does not enter the hopper, one embodiment mayadequately solve the problem associated with many prior artdispensers—the reflective material clogging occurring within the systemdue to indicator build-up. Additionally, the dispenser is not comprisedof any tubes, which eliminates one of the other potential clogging areasof prior art systems.

In one embodiment, the reflective material may be comprised of glassbeads. A method of dispensing the glass beads includes loading thereflective glass beads into the hopper.

An embodiment may also be comprised of an indicator material locatordevice. One indicator material locator device may couple separately tothe striping machine—not through a dispenser first reception tube, butmay couple through a second reception tube. One locator device may beadapted to show the striping machine operator where an edge of theindicator material will be placed on the striping surface. One type ofindicator material locator device may be a laser pointer.

In a method of dispensing reflective material, upon loading the hopperwith glass beads, the indicator material locator device may be poweredon. The locator device may then be positioned to point in the directionthat the striping machine operator wishes to place a right edge of theindicator material, as seen from a walk-behind machine operatorposition. The user may then power on the striping machine and engage afirst trigger on the machine. The first trigger may be coupled to ahandlebar having at least one trigger device that, when squeezed, mayrelease indicator material such as paint from a gun onto the surface.

A user may also squeeze a second trigger to release reflective materialfrom the hopper. In one embodiment, the reflective material is releasedfrom the hopper via a reflective material dispenser assembly. Thereflective material dispenser assembly may be comprised of a pluralityof vertically-aligned blades. An operator may raise a set number ofblades in order to set the width of the reflective material. Onedispenser assembly may also be comprised of a reflective materialdepositor and at least one blade trapper. The blade trapper or trappermay be operatively engaged by a cable assembly, the cable assemblyraising and lowering the trapper or trappers, allowing reflectivematerial to exit the hopper, and preventing reflective material fromdoing so. The depositor in one embodiment may be comprised of a groovedsurface non-perpendicularly-aligned with the blades, the depositoradapted to receive the reflective material and place the material on theindicator material or directly on the driving surface.

In one embodiment and in one method, glass beads may be loaded into thehopper & paint may be loaded into a indicator material reception area onthe striping machine. The laser pointer and striping machine are poweredon. A handlebar trigger may be engaged, allowing paint to be placed onthe surface and releasing glass beads on the paint generallysimultaneously. A second handle trigger may be used as well. Thestriping machine operator steers the machine in the correct direction,using the laser pointer and two triggers to place paint and reflectivematerial in the correct locations.

At least one trigger may be individually operatively coupled to thecable assembly. The cable assembly may be comprised of a cable endcoupled to the trigger. An opposing reflective material cable end may beoperatively coupled to the engaged ejection blades. In one embodiment,when the trigger is engaged, the cable assembly releases the specifiedamount of reflective material from the hopper through the reflectivematerial dispenser, onto the reflective material depositor. The operatormay set the amount, or thickness, of the reflective material, through aknob operatively coupled to the engaged blade trapper or trappers.

Terminology:

The terms and phrases as indicated in quotation marks (“ ”) in thissection are intended to have the meaning ascribed to them in thisTerminology section applied to them throughout this document, includingin the claims, unless clearly indicated otherwise in context. Further,as applicable, the stated definitions are to apply, regardless of theword or phrase's case, tense or any singular or plural variations of thedefined word or phrase.

The term “or” as used in this specification and the appended claims isnot meant to be exclusive rather the term is inclusive meaning “eitheror both”.

References in the specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “apreferred embodiment”, “an alternative embodiment”, “a variation”, “onevariation”, and similar phrases mean that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearancesof phrases like “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or “in avariation” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall meant to refer to the same embodiment or variation.

The term “couple”, “coupled”, “coupling”, or any variation thereof, asused in this specification and the appended claims refers to either anindirect or direct connection between the identified elements,components or objects. Often the manner of the coupling will be relatedspecifically to the manner in which the two coupled elements interact.Specifically, this term may be used to define tow elements joined by abolted fastener, a latch, a hook, or any other reasonably readilyremovable fastening device.

The term “integrate” or “integrated” as used in this specification andthe appended claims refers to a blending, uniting, or incorporation ofthe identified elements, components or objects into a unified whole.

Directional and/or relationary terms such as, but not limited to, left,right, nadir, apex, top, bottom, vertical, horizontal, back, front andlateral are relative to each other and are dependent on the specificorientation of a applicable element or article, and are used accordinglyto aid in the description of the various embodiments and are notnecessarily intended to be construed as limiting.

As applicable, the terms “about” or “generally” as used herein unlessotherwise indicated means a margin of +−20%. Also, as applicable, theterm “substantially” as used herein unless otherwise indicated means amargin of +−10%. It is to be appreciated that not all uses of the aboveterms are quantifiable such that the referenced ranges can be applied.

The term “splashback” or any similar variation thereof as used in thisspecification and the appending claims refers to indicator materialsplattering towards the reflective material dispenser.

One Embodiment of a Reflective Material Dispenser:

One embodiment of a reflective material dispenser 10 is best shown inFIGS. 1 through 11. The reflective material dispenser may be adapted tocouple to an indicator laying machine, also known as a striping machine12, or a striper, as best shown in FIG. 1. One type of striping machinemay be a Graco® walk-behind striper. One striper is adapted to layindicator material such as, but not limited to, paint, on a surface. Thesurface may be a driving surface such as, but not limited to, a parkinglot, runway, or road.

One section of the reflective material dispenser 10 may couple to thestriping machine 12 through a coupling mechanism 14, as best shown inFIG. 3. The coupling mechanism may also be called an indicator layingmachine coupler. The coupler in one embodiment may be comprised of a rod16 and a plurality of brackets 17. The brackets may be coupled orintegrated to the rod or a frame portion. As best shown in FIGS. 1 and4, two of the brackets may be striping machine frame brackets 17′ whichare adapted to couple to a striping machine frame 18 and two of thebrackets may be hopper brackets 17″ adapted couple to a hopper 20. Thebrackets may couple to the frame and hopper, respectively, through abolted assembly, although other coupling mechanisms such as, but notlimited to, welding, are also contemplated.

The hopper 20, together with a dispenser shield 22, may be comprised ofa metallic material such as, but not limited to, steel or aluminum andmay include a hopper lid 21, cover 23, and at least one wall 24, as bestshown in FIG. 4. A polymeric may also be used. The hopper may also havea hopper front 29, a close-up view of which is best shown in FIG. 10.One hopper may be adapted to store the reflective material in a mannerready for placement on the driving surface upon initiation by anoperator.

Under the shield 22, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, is a reflectivematerial dispenser assembly 30. The shield and covered dispenserassembly may be coupled to the striping machine 12 in a manner where asloped shield surface 19 and a sloped reflective material depositor 34may face an indicator material ejection device such as, but not limitedto a laser pointer 40, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. One shield mayhave a first end 44 located proximal the ejection device. One type ofindicator material ejection device may be a paint gun sprayer.

One shield 22 may cover the dispenser assembly 30 of one embodiment toprotect the assembly from indicator material splashing onto theassembly. If indicator material such as, but not limited to, paint landson the assembly, the paint may cause the dispenser assembly to functionincorrectly. For example, as best shown in FIG. 6, one dispenserassembly may be comprised of a plurality of sequentially-alignedejection blades 32 and the reflective material depositor 34. The bladesmay have a generally vertical length 35 of about 4 inches, as best shownin FIG. 9 and may be adapted to slide vertically. The blades may benon-perpendicularly aligned with the reflective material depositor topsurface.

One reflective material depositor 34 may have a plurality of grooves onthe surface of the depositor which may be generally equal in number tothe amount of blades. Other embodiments may have a higher or lowernumber of blades and grooves. An embodiment is contemplated that hasabout 12 blades. As the blades may be adapted to slider vertically andallow glass beads to exit the hopper and slide along the depositor inone embodiment, if paint were to collect on the blades or grooves, theblades may not slide vertically and the beads may not slide along thegrooves. In either scenario, the reflective material may clog and maynot exit the hopper correctly, requiring an operator to turn off andclean the unit before powering the unit back on and resuming layingreflective and/or indicator material. The shield 22 may help toadequately prevent these occurrences, keeping the reflective materialfrom correctly exiting the system.

One reflective material depositor 34 may also be operatively coupled toa hopper 20 bottom surface through a slider beam 36, as best shown inFIG. 11. The depositor may couple to the slider beam through a pluralityof bolted assemblies 37. One slider beam may have an elongated slot 39running generally parallel to the length of the beam which slidinglycouples the depositor to the hopper, and wherein a knob 46 having athreaded bolt may dissect the slot and be inserted into a threadedhopper reception bore on the bottom of the hopper adapted to receive thebolt. As the knob is tightened into the bore, the knob may press thebeam against the hopper bottom surface, keeping the beam and thereforethe coupled depositor, generally stable. If the knob is rotated andloosened, the slider beam may be slid rearwardly or forwardly, allowingan operator to position a depositor exit port 28 proximal to, or distalfrom, the dispenser assembly.

As best shown in FIG. 1, one reflective material dispenser may comprisea trigger 60 and a cable assembly 49. The trigger may be operativelycoupled to the cable assembly, which, in turn, may be operativelycoupled to reflective material dispenser assembly 30, as best shown inFIG. 5. Working together, the trigger and cable assembly may operativelyengage assigned blades 32—allowing the blade trapper 75 to raise andlower to release or prevent the release of reflective material, as bestshown in FIG. 6.

One embodiment's cable assembly 49 may be comprised of a cable 50 havinga cable first end 51 coupled to the trigger 60 and a cable second end 52coupled to a series of pins, pulleys, and levers operatively coupled tothe dispenser assembly 30. One cable second end may be coupled to athimble end 53, as best shown in FIG. 5. The thimble end may be coupledto a biasing thimble 54. The biasing thimble may also be coupled to acable assembly first biasing mechanism 55. Together, the trigger, cable,thimble end, and basing devices may operate to rotate a first end 57 ofa shaft link 56 about a pivot point 58. The shaft link may also bereferred to as a shaft. In one embodiment, the shaft link may be rotatedin a generally counter-clockwise direction upon trigger engagement bypulling the shaft link first end generally in a downward motion. Asecond biasing mechanism 48 may rotate the first end in a generallyclockwise direction by pulling a shaft link second end 47 generallytowards a cable assembly second bracket 63 upon release of the trigger.As best shown in FIG. 7, one shaft link may also be operatively coupledto a rotatable rod 59 adapted to rotate about its longitudinal axis,generally centered on the pivot point. A pin 61 may also be coupled tothe rod.

When a trigger 60, which may coupled to a striper handlebar 90, isengaged, the cable 50 may be pulled towards the handlebar, as best shownin FIG. 1. For example, one trigger may be gripped by an operator andpulled towards the handlebar and the coupled cable may follow thetrigger towards the handlebar. As the cable follows the trigger, as bestshown in FIG. 5, the thimble end 53 is pulled away from the cableassembly first bracket 62 and the biasing thimble 54 compresses towardsthe first bracket. The compression of the biasing thimble expands thefirst biasing mechanism 55 and rotates the shaft link first end 57 aboutthe pivot point 58.

As best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, rotating the shaft link 56 inducesrotation in the rod 59 and the pin 61. One embodiment may also becomprised of two pins, and each pin may have a proximal end coupled tothe rod near a rod end. Each pin may also have a distal end coupled toan ejection blade movement device 70, the blade movement device in oneembodiment comprising a portion of the reflective material dispenser 30.One blade movement device may be comprised of an outer blade trapper 71,an inner blade trapper 75, and a blade guide 74. The blade movementdevice may be operatively coupled to the blades 32 and adapted to movein a direction generally tangential to the pivot point 58 and pins 61.One blade movement device is adapted to move and release material fromone or more engaged blades as set by the operator prior to operation insubstantially the same tangential direction as the movement device,which may be a generally vertical direction. As best shown in FIG. 11,one blade guide 74 may also be comprised of a pair of hooks 38 adaptedto support the depositor 34, along with the slider beam 36.

To engage the blades 32 and set a specified reflective material widthupon exit from the dispenser 30 onto the driving surface, one embodimentenables the use of a plurality of thumbscrews 72. Prior to operation ofthe system, an operator determines the width of the required reflectivematerial stripe on the driving surface, and engages a specified numberof blades to meet that width. In one embodiment, the blades may becomprised of a material such as steel or a steel alloy and may be about1 inch wide, about 4 inches long and only about 0.02 inches thick. So,an operator may engage about 6 blades to set a reflective strip width ofabout 6 six inches.

To engage a blade 32 in one embodiment, the operator may loosen athumbscrew 72. In one alternative embodiment, when the thumbscrew istight, the thumbscrew standoff 73 may press the blade against a bladeguide 74 so that if the blade guide is raised upon pin rotation, theblade may be raised as well in one embodiment. However, an embodimentmay be adapted to allow the operator to loosen a thumbscrew, pullupwardly on the blade, and tighten the thumbscrew when the blade is inan open position, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 9.

When the correct number of blades 32 are in an open position, theoperator may engage the trigger 60, rotating the pin 61 and raising theblade trapper 75. Once the engaged blades and trapper in one embodimentare raised, reflective material may exit the hopper cavity exit port 82,as best shown in FIG. 10, and into the grooves on the reflectivematerial depositor 34. The non-engaged blades continue to block the exitport so little to no reflective material exits onto the groovesgenerally aligned with those blades. Upon release of the triggermechanism 60, the cable 50 may be generally returned to its initialposition. This operation may return the blade movement device 70 to itsinitial position. In one embodiment the initial position of the blademovement device is the closed position, blocking the exit port onceagain so reflective material does not continue to exit the hopper out ofthe raised blades.

Therefore, in one embodiment, upon raising the blades 32 by looseningthe thumbscrews 72, pulling up on the blades, and subsequentlytightening the thumbscrews, when the trigger 60 is engaged, the bladetrapper 75 is raised, and, acting as a gate, the blade trapper releasesreflective material through those blades which were manually raised. Thetrigger does not raise the blades in this embodiment. However, in analternative embodiment, the blades may be raised and lowered.

One cable assembly 49 may also be comprised of a knob 45. The knob maybe coupled to the shaft link 56. In one embodiment, when the knob isrotated, the shaft link pivots about the pivot point 58, rotating thepins 61. Doing so raises or lowers the blade trapper 75. When the knobraises the blade trapper and the trigger subsequently further raises theblade trapper, more of the exit port 82 may be exposed than if the knobis turned lowering the blade trapper. Therefore, with a raised bladetrapper and an increased exit port opening, more reflective materialexits the dispenser and the reflective material thickness is greater onthe driving surface than if the blade trapper is not raised with theknob. It is in this manner in one embodiment that the reflectivematerial thickness may be adjusted. The thickness may be adjusted withother mechanisms in one embodiment, such as, but not limited to, atrigger.

An embodiment of a reflective material dispenser 10 may also becomprised of an indicator material locator device. One locator devicemay be comprised of a laser pointer 40. The indication material ejectiondevice may be comprised of a paint gun in one embodiment. Upon poweringon, the laser pointer may be adapted to place a laser dot on the drivingsurface. The pointer in one embodiment may be rotatably and pivotablyadapted. One laser pointer is adapted to place a dot on the drivingsurface where an edge of the indicator material is placed, capable ofadjusting to the required width of the indicator material. For example,if in one embodiment, the indicator material ejection device is set toplace a 6-inch wide paint stripe on the driving surface, the paint maybe placed about three inches to the left of the ejection device andabout three inches to the right of the ejection device. The laserpointer may be pointed three inches to the right of the device.

In one embodiment, where the indication material ejection device spraysindicator material on the driving surface may not be able to be seen bythe operator during operation of the machine because the operator's lineof sight may be blocked by the hopper 20 or shield 22. Therefore, oneembodiment's laser pointer 40 may also be adjusted to point about 2 feetahead of where the indicator material ejection device initiates layingindicator material on the driving surface. This may allow the operatorto view where the indicator material and the laid-upon reflectivematerial will be placed during normal machine operation. One locationmay be an initial corner location of the indicator material.

One embodiment may be comprised of a laser fan guide 105, as best shownin FIG. 14. In one laser fan guide embodiment, the laser pointer 40 maybe coupled to the guide. The guide may be coupled to the paint gun 103.The laser fan guide is adapted to place a laser 100 on the surface whichthe reflective material is to be placed on. The location of the lasermay be an edge location of the fan of paint upon exit from the paint gunand placement on the driving surface. Such a device may overcomedeficiencies in the prior art which cause reflective material andindicator material to be placed on the driving surface in an incorrectlocation. For example, the indicator material may be place either priorto or after the correct location as the driver of the striping machinedoes not know where the paint exiting the sprayer will land on thedriving surface. The laser fan guide overcomes this problem. Besides thelaser pointer, one laser fan guide may be adjustably adapted tocorrectly angle the laser pointer such that the laser points to thecorrect location on the driving surface. A first knob 102 and secondknob 101 may enable rotation about at least two axis.

One Method of a Dispensing Material from a Reflective MaterialDispenser:

As best shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 9 and 11 through 13, a method of usingthe reflective material dispenser is comprised of coupling a reflectivematerial dispenser 10 having a hopper 20 and a reflective materialdispenser 30 to a striping machine 12. Furthermore, reflective materialmay be placed within the hopper and ejected through the reflectivematerial dispenser and onto a surface such as, but not limited to, adriving surface. One method may also include powering on an indicatormaterial locator device such as, but limited to, a laser pointer 40. Thelaser pointer may then need to be pointed to the correct position in onemethod. For example, if the operator is required to lay a 6 inch stripeof reflective material on one portion of a surface such as, but notlimited to, a driving surface, and a 10 inch stripe on another portionof the surface, the indicator material locator device may need to beadjusted between laying reflective material for the two widths. In onemethod, the indicator material locator device is positioned correctly bypositioning a laser point about 2 feet in front of a left or a rightedge of a test indicator material blast.

Upon setting up the reflective material depositor 10 including the laserpointer 40 and the striping machine 12 in one method, the stripingmachine may then be powered on and indicator material may began to belaid on the surface. To begin laying indicator material such as, but notlimited to, paint, on a driving surface, a trigger 60 may be engaged.One method of engaging a trigger may be to pull a trigger shaft proximalto, and coupled to, a handlebar 90, towards the handlebar.

In one method, the reflective material dispenser 10 may be coupled tothe indicator striping machine 12 through coupling a hopper supportframe to the striping machine. In one method, the striping machine maybe a walk-behind striper and one frame may be comprised of a pluralityof brackets 17 and at least one rod 16, as best shown in FIG. 12. In onemethod, the rod 16 may insert into a striping machine frame receptiontube 3. One reception tube may also be referred to as a striping machineframe first reception tub and one reception tub may be referred to as asecond reception tube. A reception tube may also be referred to as areceiver tube. Additionally, as best shown in FIG. 13, one indicatorejection device may couple to the striping machine 12 through insertingan ejection device shaft 99 to an ejection device reception tube 98. Theejection device reception tube may be referred to as a striping machineframe second section or second reception tube.

One method may include additional steps. For example, one method'splacing of reflective material within the hopper 20 may include fillingthe hopper 20 with glass beads and a method's turning on the indicatormaterial locator device may comprise powering on the laser pointer 40.Additionally, when indicator material is placed on a surface in onemethod, the indicator material may be paint. The paint may be ejectedfrom a paint gun set to place the paint on the surface generally in aline having a first width.

Similarly, the reflective material such as, but not limited to, glassbeads, may be ejected from the reflective material dispenser 10 in afirst width. Ejection of the beads may comprise leaving the dispenserassembly 30 and sliding the beads along the reflective materialdepositor 34. In one method, the plurality of glass beads sliding alongthe depositor may have a width about equal to the indicator materialfirst width, ejecting from the depositor and onto the indicator materiallocated on the driving surface, substantially centered on the indicatormaterial. A depositor in one method may be a grooved depositor.

To correctly lay indicator and reflective material in one method, theindicator material locator device may need to be positioned correctly.In one method, an indicator material first width is established throughrotating a paint gun nozzle, spraying a test spray of the paint gun, andaiming the laser pointer 40 at a test spray edge. One laser pointer maybe positioned about 2 feet in front of the actual spray location on thedriving surface since the actual indicator material location may beblocked by striping machine components.

Initiating indicator material flow from the ejection device and onto thedriving surface may include engaging a trigger 60, such as, but notlimited to, pulling a handlebar trigger towards a handlebar. The widthof the reflective material may be set by the operator in one embodimentthrough adjusting thumbscrews 72, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 9. Forexample, the thumbscrews may be loosened, and a blade 32 may be slidgenerally upward. The thumbscrew may then be tightened, essentiallylocking the blade in an open position, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 9.

Additionally, a method may be comprised of adjusting the thickness ofthe reflective material. One method may allow an operator to set thereflective material thickness through adjusting a knob 45. In onemethod, the knob may raise or lower one or more blade trappers 75. Forexample, if the knob is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, theblade trapper may be raised and if the knob is rotated in clockwisedirection, the blade trapper may be lowered. When the blade trapper israised, the hopper cavity exit port 82, as best shown in FIG. 10 may beincreased, thereby allowing an increased amount of reflective materialto exit the dispenser and collect on the indicator material. The portmay be the distance between the blade 32 or blade trapper bottom end 97and a hopper bottom surface 96, as best shown in FIG. 9.

In one method, when the trigger is engaged, such as, but not limited to,pulling the trigger towards the handlebar, at least one biasing membermay also be engaged. For example, as best shown in FIG. 5, engaging atrigger may pull the cable 50 towards the handlebar, raising a cablesecond end 52 generally vertically upwards. Doing so thereinafterextends or compresses at least one of a biasing thimble 54, a firstbiasing mechanism 55 and a second biasing mechanism 48. Additionally, amethod may be comprised of rotating a rod 59.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments of the reflective material dispenser and methods of useas illustrated in the accompanying figures and described above aremerely exemplary and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention.It is to be appreciated that numerous variations to the invention havebeen contemplated as would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in theart with the benefit of this disclosure.

1) A reflective material dispenser comprising, an indicator layingmachine coupler; a hopper comprising, a hopper lid, a hopper cover, ahopper front, and at least one hopper wall; a dispenser assemblycomprising an extension blade movement device, the dispenser assemblyextending outwardly from the hopper and adapted to face an indicatormaterial ejection device; and a dispenser shield adapted tosubstantially prohibit indicator material splashback onto the dispenserassembly, the dispenser shield having a first end located proximal theindicator material ejection device. 2) The reflective material dispenserof claim 1 further including, a trigger, and a cable assemblyoperatively coupled to the trigger and the dispenser assembly, the cableassembly operatively adapted to both release a user-specified thicknessand a user-specified width of reflective material from the dispenserassembly upon trigger operation. 3) The reflective material dispenser ofclaim 2 wherein, the dispenser assembly comprises a plurality ofsequentially-aligned ejection blades adapted to control the reflectivematerial width, each ejection blade having a generallyvertically-aligned length; and the cable assembly comprising, a cablehaving a first end and a second end, the cable first end operativelycoupled to the trigger and the cable second end operatively coupled tothe ejection blade movement device, a knob adapted to control thereflective material thickness, and at least one biasing mechanism. 4)The reflective material dispenser of claim 2 wherein, the ejection blademovement device comprises, an outer blade trapper, an inner bladetrapper, and a blade guide; the cable assembly comprises a rotatablyadapted shaft and at least one pin having a pin proximal end and a pindistal end, the shaft operatively coupled to the pin proximal end, thepin distal end coupled to at least one of the inner blade trapper andthe outer blade trapper; a knob coupled to the shaft; and the triggercomprising a handlebar coupling device. 5) The reflective materialdispenser of claim 1 wherein, the dispenser assembly comprises, areflective material depositor; a plurality of sequentially-alignedejection blades, each ejection blade having a generallyvertically-aligned length having a longitudinal axis; at least one of aninner blade trapper and an outer blade trapper; a plurality of thumbscrews; and a blade guide. 6) The reflective material dispenser of claim5 wherein, the reflective material depositor further comprises, aslidingly adapted hopper coupler; a plurality of grooves generally equalto the number of ejection blades, a top side generallynon-perpendicularly-aligned with the ejection blade longitudinal axis;and an exit port located proximal the dispenser shield first end. 7) Thereflective material dispenser of claim 1 further comprising, anindicator material locator device adapted to establish an initialsurface placement location for ejected indicator material. 8) Thereflective material dispenser of claim 7 wherein, the indicator materiallocator device comprises, a paint gun assembly, and a laser pointeradapted to identify a corner location for initial paint placement on thedriving surface. 9) A method of using the reflective material dispenserof claim 7 comprising, coupling the reflective material dispenser to anindicator striping machine; placing reflective material within thehopper; powering on the indicator material locator device; positioningthe indicator material locator device; powering on the indicatorstriping machine; engaging a trigger; placing indicator material on asurface; and ejecting reflective material through the reflectivematerial dispenser onto at least one of the surface and the indicatormaterial. 10) The method of claim 9 wherein, coupling the reflectivematerial dispenser to the indicator striping machine comprises, couplinga hopper support frame rod to a striping machine frame first section,inserting an ejection device reception tube to a striping machine framesecond section, placing the reflective material within the hoppercomprises filling the hopper with glass beads; turning on the indicatormaterial locator device comprises powering on a laser pointer; placingindicator material on a surface comprises ejecting paint having a firstwidth; and ejecting reflective material through the reflective materialdispenser comprises sliding a plurality of glass beads along areflective material depositor, the plurality of glass beads slidingalong the depositor having a width about equal to the indicator materialfirst width. 11) A method of using a reflective material dispensercomprising, coupling the reflective material dispenser to a walk-behindstriping machine; placing reflective beads within a hopper; turning onan indicator material locator device; ejecting indicator material from apaint gun onto a driving surface; and operatively releasing reflectivematerial from a reflective material dispenser substantially onto theindicator material. 12) The method of claim 11 wherein, releasingreflective material from a reflective material dispenser comprises,adjusting a reflective material release width and a reflective materialthickness; engaging a trigger assembly; engaging a cable assembly; andsliding reflective glass beads along a grooved reflective materialdepositor. 13) The method of claim 12 wherein, adjusting a reflectivematerial release width comprises, loosening a thumbscrew, sliding atleast one blade generally vertically upward; and adjusting a reflectivematerial thickness comprises, increasing a distance between a bladetrapper bottom end and a hopper bottom surface. 14) The method of claim12 wherein, engaging a trigger assembly comprises, squeezing at leastone handlebar trigger, drawing a cable generally towards the trigger;and engaging a cable assembly comprises, engaging at least one biasingmember, and rotating a rod. 15) The method of claim 12 wherein,releasing reflective material from a reflective material dispenserfurther includes generally vertically raising at least one blade; andfurther including, sliding the depositor along the slider beam; couplingthe depositor to a receiver tube; and steering the reflective materialdispenser. 16) A reflective material striping system comprising, anindicator material laying system; a reflective material dispensingsystem; and a positioning system adapted to identify the correctlocation to initiate laying indicator material and reflective material.17) The reflective material striping system of claim 16 wherein, theindicator material laying system comprises a walk-behind system; thereflective material dispensing system comprises a dispenser shield; aframe portion having brackets; the positioning system is comprised of apaint sprayer and a laser pointer; 18) The reflective material stripingsystem of claim 16 wherein, the indicator material laying systemcomprises handlebars having at least one trigger, first and secondreception tubes; the reflective material dispensing system furthercomprises an indicator material reception system adapted to receivepaint; 19) The reflective material striping system of claim 18 wherein,the at least one trigger comprises first and second triggers. 20) Thereflective material striping system of claim 15 further including, astriping surface.